The most helpful favorable review

The most helpful critical review

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

Fun To Read
Of all the people who ever wrote books on NLP, Richard Bandler's are the most fun to read - there's no question about it and this book is no exception. As a matter of fact when I began reaing this book, I couldn't put it down, in spite of the fact that I felt at times at odds with his grammar and the fact that you won't exactly find techniques to apply in this book...

Disappointed: Lost in my own Transderivation Search I guess
I purcahsed the book with the intention of learining how to sell more effectively, to engineer persuasion. I came away not having a clear paradigm or model upon which to base my future activities. In other words, I found it very, very difficult to "operationalize" what Bandler presented. If you want a clear "how to (process,steps)" and not "what to (gain rapport, elicit...

Of all the people who ever wrote books on NLP, Richard Bandler's are the most fun to read - there's no question about it and this book is no exception. As a matter of fact when I began reaing this book, I couldn't put it down, in spite of the fact that I felt at times at odds with his grammar and the fact that you won't exactly find techniques to apply in this book.

The essence in the book revolves around the premise that people want to feel good, and if you desire to sell something to others, what you need to do is make them feel good. The book is then filled mostly with stories which serve to bring this point across.

The contents of the book can be summed up mainly as an entertaining fluff - interesting and motivational, but you're left on your own as to how you want to go applying the information you find in this book.

I recommend it.Warning! this is not a normal book. Don't expect a list of do this, do that, if customer says this, then say that, prepare a sales line etc..

This book is about the ~opposite~ of that.

Read it with a sense of what is possible, and a sense of being flexible .. and you will get many ideas about how you can go about your selling more effectively .. take what you already know and make it better ...

Selling and persuading ..

Do you feel guilty? nervous? anxious? tongue tied? this may help change your perceptions .. helping you to sell feelings along with the product, something you do anyway.

If you want a list of things to do, read the book and write out ideas as you read it, and wholah! a list!

Finally, there are other reviewers who did not like the book, and so I will say it is not for everyone, but the only way you will know if it can give you a great edge is to read it.

I read this book cover to cover, and I was amazed at what a fun read it was and how it affected me almost immediately. The book is designed for salespeople who want to enhance their performance on the job. And while some of the techniques are unorthodox, for example dressing up as a priest to get the influence of authority, they are fun and out-of-the-box. The authors stress looking for opportunities where others see failure, and I enjoy that positive and uplifting way of thinking.There are some books that you will probably want to read first before you begin reading this book. First, read a book on the fundamentals of NLP so you know what the authors are talking about. (For this, you might want to select an author other than Bandler! I love Bandler, but his writing can be confusing and elusive.) Second, if you are new to sales, then make sure you understand the sales process from opening to closing so that you can understand how "Persuasion Engineering" will fit into the sales cycle. (If you are really new, see some of the sales books by Steve Schiffman.) Third, you may also want to read a book such as "Psychology of Persuasion" by Kevin Hogan so you understand how value-belief hierarchies interface into the model as well. Finally, you may want to look at "Tranceformations" which is Bandler and Grinder's book on combining NLP with Milton Erickson's hypnosis techniques.

Having fun making money is more sensible than making money, if that's making any sense. Read this book.

I purcahsed the book with the intention of learining how to sell more effectively, to engineer persuasion. I came away not having a clear paradigm or model upon which to base my future activities. In other words, I found it very, very difficult to "operationalize" what Bandler presented. If you want a clear "how to (process,steps)" and not "what to (gain rapport, elicit representational system" this is not the book for you (other than for professional reading and humourous stories).The primary problem is that Bandler writes the book as if he were present, speaking to you. He writes using the techniques of NLP which do not translate well into easy reading. Bandler readily admits writting, "...NLP and grammer do not necessarily share the same structure". However, because written words can not convey the verbal aspects/intonation patterns, the "phonological", "syntactical", ambiguities of NLP are lost and just makes for tough reading. The book reads like a seminar transcript (from which, I believe, many parts of it comes; clauses such "come up here Peter", "you see he touched him on his arm", "thats a good sound fffffft")and it is very difficult to determine what is the teaching point. The chapters on Precision Elicitation and Mental Mapping are endless run on stories with, once again, no clear teaching points. The chapters never define what the terms mean, how one would use what they represent, nor the process to perform them. A previous reviewer wrote that if you are accumstomed to clear structured teaching this book is not for you, and I am in total agreement.

With all of that said, if you are familiar with NLP, and are willing to muddle through and create your own selling model the book will give you an idea of how to use NLP but certainly not any firm guidance. If you purcahse the book with the expection written on the jacket notes: "It covers everything from the beginning of the sales process through the close", this is not, repeat not, the book to which you should look. The book is more of a stream of consciousness that drops morsels of wisdom along the way, with the hope that you unconsciously connect, but more often than not not, are easily overlooked. I believe Persuasion Engineering would truly be "sales life" transforming if a clear model was presented: e.g. model-principle-explaination-example(story)-exercise; written with novelty and humor which Bandler obviously has a great talent. In the final analysis I would pass on this book if you want to improve your sales persuasion skills; but if you want to read a sales related book to impress your friends and co workers on a novel, new idea, this is for you. How do I reconcile this with the reviewers who gave it rave reviews? If you like slick sales techniques, especially in non-solution, consumer sales, this book will have more appeal.

I enjoyed every page of this book! Its easy-to-read style belies the process language beneath the text! Richard and John use their storytelling and language patterns to install in their readers the kinds of skills and states of mind required in order to learn how to persuade other people powerfully. One common complaint about this book is that its not always grammatically correct -- but where this is true it is quite intended... because as they teach Neuro-Linguistic Programming within the book, they also demonstrate what they teach on the reader! Its fun, its highly effective as a sales skills development tool, and it makes for great reading. I recommend this book more than most other NLP books that I've read. Persuasion Engineering is a process of using specific NLP skills to capture and lead people's imaginations, induce WANTON buying states & feelings, and then, pointing to the product or service you sell/deliver! It helps you to learn the pitfalls of inappropriate selling, the pros and cons of various approaches, and teaches you how to prevent buyers remorse and guarantee more referrals in the future. This one should be on your must-read list, if you're in sales of any kind!

With that said, of course this doesn't appeal to everyone, but it is a wonderful resource. A non-fiction book as funny as this doesn't come along everyday. In typical post-90's Bandler style, this one portrays him as a slightly neurotic and over-the-top character who really challenges you and motivates you to really get out there and "just do it." You may find him unlikable and disagreeable, but you love him anyways, and that's really the proof that what he discusses works on some level.

I disagree with all of the reviewers who say that this book is light on tips. There are at least seven decidedly unique strategies that you can use on your clients based on what was said in this book. Small things, yes, and some are very specific, but they're still in there to use.

I found Persuasion Engineering to be a wealth of information, not because of the methods he teaches (most of which are more than a little outrageous and probably not practical), but because of the way in which they are taught. I think that the point of the way that they taught this course was to go overboard in hopes that you would meet them halfway. And if you go just halfway, you'll really change the way you do your job.

I bought this book after reading several reviews that lauded its contents quite convincingly.What I did not realize was that the book is written as though Bandler were actually sitting next to you and speaking with you - which is not as simple as it seems.

Most books are edited by professional editors so that sentences flow smoothly and grammatical errors are omitted. Proper punctuation is imperative to the reader's abiity to move fluidly through the writing.

Not here. This book was simply slapped together without an ounce of editing - and the big sales pitch was that this style of writing provides effectiveness that would otherwise have been elminated had the book been edited properly.

Bandler's topic is a good one - persuading people to see things your way in a sales situation. But much of what could have been good about this book was lost (at least it was for me) as I became increasingly frustrated in trying to navigate through half-sentences, run-on sentences, sentences that have no ending, and weird sound effects that cannot be translated into words (but are, somehow).

Try to imagine how you speak everyday. Let's face it - no one actually speaks like a perfectly-edited book. Hear yourself speaking and then think about how difficult it would be to *read* these words verbatim if they were on paper - with nothing edited. You get my point.

If you choose to read this book (which, for some reason, carries a ridiculously high price-tag on just about every site I checked), be prepared to muddle through possibly the worst-edited book of your era.

this book simply is more like a good story and good concept kind of book than how to do book. I found the information in this book very blurry in how to apply although I believe the techniques work very well. Let me put it this way, this book presents what you can do and very shallowly how to do it, but if you want to learn it and do it yourself you might need a personal trainer or one hell of a work ethic trial and error. =)

This is a fun and useful book that will make you feel good and challenge to you step outside the box. It's dense and will require engagement of its recommended exercises over time.If you are in sales, don't get this as I want this advantage ONLY for ME.

I really enjoyed this book, I can't wait to go to Richard's training in the near future. My stockbroker, Peter Tenuta at Morgan Dean Witter has my copy!Great book for sales people who want more tools for their toolbox.